Gold Rush: Inside The Newest Vinyl Pressing Plant In Texas

Deep in the heart of Texas, an old industry is thrumming to life once again, and there’s only one phrase to describe it: Gold Rush. That's not a reference to any physical precious metal, but rather the name of the newest vinyl-pressing plant in Austin.

Founded by former Google executive and band manager Caren Kelleher, Gold Rush aims to capitalize on the lack of worldwide capacity for creating new vinyl records, which are selling at their highest levels since Nielsen started tracking in the early 1990s. Kelleher’s outfit can currently crank out 1.8 million LPs annually, with room to scale up to 6 million--at a much faster rate than most, especially for small runs.

“The normal turnaround times are averaging four to six month in vinyl,” she says. “Our plant can do it in four to six weeks.”

Earlier this year, Kelleher took us on a tour of her facility. Check out the video above for the full experience.